No Wisdom Without Regret
by Benten-Zopher
Summary: After having a really bad day, Ranma wakes up in a room with a black ball. Based on the Gantz manga. Ranma / Reika pairing.
1. Prologue: A Change of Pace

**No Wisdom Without Regret**

**Prologue: A Change of Pace**

**Updated: 7/19/11 - Fixed formatting errors**

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Ranma ½ or Gantz. I wish I did. That would be awesome! Course, if I did own them, then I probably wouldn't be writing fanfiction or let the Gantz anime end the way it did. Hmm anyway, kudos to both Rumiko Takahashi and Hiroya Oka for everything.

* * *

As with many days lately, Ranma was not having a good one. It had been a year since the wedding, and he had changed a lot. Unfortunately, none of the fiances and rivals had. He closed his eyes as he sailed through the air and thought about his day.

He had been woken up by being thrown out the window by his fat panda of a father, again. Had Akane walk in on him while he was in the furo, again. Had been barely able to eat any breakfast, again. Was late to school and had to hold buckets, again. Fought Kuno, Mousse, Ryoga, and Happosai during lunch break, again. Had his Ki drained by Miss Hinako for eating his lunch at his desk, again. Got attacked by his fiancees and a new challenger on the way to the dojo, again. Was malleted by Akane for not eating the toxic sludge she had made for him, again.

*Sigh* Opening his eyes to get a better view of the evening sky and the stars beginning to shine down on him. Admiring the beauty, he took a deep breath and started thinking back on the past year. _"Why do I even bother trying with Akane anymore? She hits me for even the littlest things now. I don't even like her anymore. Hell, makes me wonder why I ever tried to love her as more than an annoying sister._

_"She treats me like crap even after everything we've been through. I killed for her, I managed to find the scrolls for and master the Umisenken and Yamasenken to protect her better, I started to apply myself to my studies, so no one would make fun of her for having a stupid and ignorant fiance, I cleaned up my speaking and manners for her... Well... Her and mom, but still the point stands. The only thing I haven't done for her lately was mastering the Neko-ken. I did that for myself. I pretty much had to after that damn ghost-cat incident. That was so embarrassing I still hide the fact that it's under my control now mainly to keep Shampoo away, and it's a fun way to mess with people.  
_

_"Speaking of which, that crazy Amazon just won't give up, and her grandma can stay the hell away from me with all of her spices and potions... Unless the old ghoul wants to teach me some new techniques, of course._

_"Then there's Ukyo, I seriously don't know why she can't accept the fact that I don't feel the same way about her as she does for me and just move on. Konatsu would probably be good for her. They even match and can use it for marketing, the crossdressing duo!" _

Ranma gave a rueful grin before continuing on with his thoughts. "_Course, I can't really say anything. I've gone and accepted my curse. I have to admit, it even has its perks. Still embarrassing as hell when I change in front of someone, but it could be worse. At least I can speak to explain the situation after I change and not be stuck making animal noises."_

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he began to angle and twist himself around to see where he was headed and to get ready to make his landing. He was not amused by what he saw.

If the cliff face had a face, he'd see that contrary to what he was feeling, it was amused. Especially when Ranma made a face that said, "This is going to hurt," right before he slammed into it, which bore a striking resemblance to a bug hitting a windshield.

Ranma's vision faded as he thought, _"One day, that tomboy will be the death of me."_

When he next opened his eyes, he saw an unfamiliar ceiling over his head. Sitting up, he noticed that he was in some sort of apartment filled with people and a large black ball sitting on one side of the room.

* * *

**Author Notes:** This was spawned from a very sick part of my brain that commented that Ranma would kick ass in the Gantz world. I get a lot of those and have written many outlines and two other stories that I dont feel are good enough yet.

This chapter may have been fairly light and short, but future chapters will become VERY dark and longer. I promise at least 3000 words per chapter from here on out.

Also, just a note, but I will be following the manga and NOT the anime.


	2. Chapter 1: A Room With A View

**No Wisdom Without Regret**

**Chapter 1: A Room With A View…**

**Updated: 7/19/11 - Fixed formatting errors**

* * *

**Quick Author's Note: **Unlike most anime and manga series, Gantz goes through characters (main and side alike) like it has the worst sinus infection of all time, and the characters are the tissues. This being the case, I probably won't describe the characters too much in the story, but I will include them after the ending Author's Notes.

Also, this went through about five drafts and two separate incarnations, so while I would like a beta reader, I want someone to bounce ideas off of as well. Please don't apply unless you have a decent knowledge of Ranma and a good understanding of the Gantz MANGA (not anime). Thanks. :)

**Disclaimer:** If you think I own Ranma or Gantz, then you need meds more than I do… But I still get the next health pack in your favorite side scroller! BWAHAHAHAHA!

* * *

Ranma's immediate reaction to finding himself in a strange room was to check his finger for a ring and to make sure no one was cuddled up to him. _"Damn crazy Kodachi…"_ After verifying that this was not the case, he sat up, chuckled darkly, and shook his head as he moved to the next logical conclusion. _"While I was knocked out (damn, smug cliff face), I was kidnapped. Ha! Joke's going to be on them. I thought this shit only happened to Akane. And, judging from some of the reactions of the others, they're probably in the same boat. Well, first thing first, I need to get my bearings and look for possible escape routes."_

Ranma's brain was actually a powerful weapon in and of itself. Arguably, it was his MOST powerful weapon. This may seem simple, quaint, contrived, and somewhat generic to many who don't know Ranma. However, anyone who knows Ranma knows that when he actually uses his brain, he can do the impossible. Some jokingly say that it's because he uses it so rarely that it's still in mint condition and that's the reason why works so well. The truth is Ranma uses his brain more than people think, but until he has a reason to, he does not actually apply himself. Since he has only really had to apply himself in combat settings while growing up, he affectionately refers to this state as combat mode since it allows him to filter out all distractions and focus on the matter at hand.

Another little known fact is that Ranma's combat mode had been upgraded through the years. As a child, it started with watching his opponent's every move and committing them to memory for dissection and requisition into his own fighting style. Later, he developed what he considers to be a danger sense where he can sense any incoming trouble or threats to himself. This is actually just a reaction to his brain subconsciously processing information about his surroundings and also picking up on very obvious fluctuations in Ki. Most recently, Ranma has added Ki sense, which involves viewing another's Ki and sensing whenever someone or something enters in range of his own impressive Ki field, to his combat mode to judge the threat level and possible intentions of others. It was in this evolved combat mode that he began examining the room.

"_Okay, the Tokyo Tower is out of that window which means I'm still in Tokyo. Hmm… there's an odd field around the window. From the looks of it, it repels anything that tries to touch it." _Momentarily glancing at a door in his peripheral view, he continued,_ "It also seems to cover the doors. Interesting, the fields seem to be coming from…"_ His eyes wandered to the far side of the room, and he involuntarily let out a startled gasp. _"Whatever that black ball thing is, it's got a pretty impressive amount of Ki, but it feels weird... almost alien. I'll have to think on that later."_ With another quick glance at the ball, he then turned his attention to the people in the room, hoping to find the ones who brought him here and beat an explanation out of them.

"_The elderly lady and young boy in the corner obviously didn't bring us here. I've met tough old ladies and this definitely isn't one of them. She seems to be more of the give you a cookie type. Wish the brat would quit crying though; he's giving me a headache. Threat level: nonexistent."_ With a wince when the brat's crying grew in pitch, he turned his attention to the guy by the window.

"_Pretty boy doesn't look like he's worked a day in his life. I'd be surprised if he could lift me, much less carry me here. He's actually pretty freaked and just acting calm as a front. Though, that does seem to be keeping that creepy girl who's eyeing him from panicking. She kind of reminds me of the spooky girl from the movie "The Ring". They obviously are not the ones who brought me here. Threat level: low."_ With a sigh, he continued onto the next group of people in the room that seemed to be together.

Biting back a laugh with what was obviously seen and sensed, Ranma thought to himself, _"Oh Kami-sama! It's the three biker stooges and their boss the fourth biker stooge. I know these types. They love to boast, brag, and act like they're in charge and above everyone else. Genma used to love messing with their type, and you know that when Genma can out think you, you're in trouble. These guys don't have enough brain cells between them to try a kidnapping plot, and judging from their auras, they are the most panicky group here. Threat level: low."_ With a final scoff and a cocky smirk at the bikers, he turned to the dog.

Ranma gazed at the dog, which wore a goofy expression of friendliness, for a brief moment before dismissing him and moving on as the dog began walking away. As he was turning to the next person in the room he paused and reconsidered the dog. "Then again, weirder has happened," he mumbled to himself before turning back and glaring icily at the dog. The dog turned, noticed the glare, yelped, and ran off with its tail between its legs. _"Guess not,"_ Ranma thought with a sigh. The thought, _"Maybe I really am getting paranoid,"_ ran through his head before he turned his attention to the next person sitting alone against the wall of the room.

"_He seems to be the lone wolf loner types. I don't trust him though. He's got a look in his eyes like we're all beneath him, and he'll turn on us given the chance. Kind of reminds me of an even more cut throat Nabiki… if such a thing is possible. And that suit he seems to be wearing under his clothes looks to be boosting his Ki. Now that is odd. Wonder where I can get one… He's also showing no signs of panic at all. Almost like this is all old hat to him. All in all, he may be one of the kidnappers. Threat level: surprisingly, moderate."_ Ranma marked him mentally as a person to be wary of and then moved on the final group.

"_Interesting… They're around my age, and they all act as if they have been here before. Yet, they are showing some tension. The girl's cute with her large endowments, pretty face, and pixie haircut, however, that may have unknowingly worked against her since in the past she had everyone doing things for her, so she is now practically worthless on her own. She's too used to relying on others, and if she weren't so insecure, I'd think she might be the brains of the operation since she could use that helpless nature to her advantage and get what she wants. _

"_The short guy looks almost as self centered as that lone wolf kid. Not as cold or as much of an ass, but still self centered enough to not be trusted to help out in a fight without a lot of prodding. I could see him trying to be the brain, but his own delusions would hamper him. All round, he might be useful if pushed, but he'd need a motivation to break through his self involved ass routine. _

_"The big guy could be the muscle. He looks like he'd be good in a fight, and there is a fire behind those eyes. He fits most of the profile, but the problem is his eyes. His eyes may contain fire, but it's not directed at anyone here in general. They are too kind and softhearted to belong to a kidnapper. No, he definitely had no part in thi…"_

Ranma was pulled from his thoughts abruptly as he instinctively rolled to the side, jumped up, and took his trademark lazy man stance just in time for a kick to pass through the spot where his head was not a moment before. Ranma's eyes narrowed as they followed the offending foot back up to the fat biker stooge that it was connected to and growled out, "What the hell was that for?"

Realizing that his foot did not make contact with its intended target, the fat biker blinked in wide eyed astonishment while staring at the spot where his foot was but not the head it was supposed to make contact with. Probably not even realizing how stupid he looked at the moment with his foot still raised, he took a moment to steady himself, before quickly lowering his leg, and spinning to face the pigtailed boy. "We're trying to find out what the fuck happened to us! You never answered when I asked you, so I decided to make you listen! Now, answer me, sissy boy! Do you know what the fuck happened to us?" he shouted while trying to keep the slight edge of hysteria out of his voice.

Ranma brushed off the insult and gave a cocky grin, just to get under the guys skin more. "Nah, but those four seem to know something," Ranma drawled while pointing to the (in his mind) lone wolf kid, short guy, dependent girl, and tall dude.

At that, the bikers looked at the four of them as if for the first time, while the four previously mentioned people gazed at Ranma in a slightly nonplussed manner as if surprised by his intuition. Then, the bikers noticed the girl. As they started surrounding her, leering all the while and blocking out everything else, Ranma readied himself to jump in to defend the buxom girl.

Unfortunately for the bikers, it just so happens, that due to his curse and interactions with (read gropings by) Kuno, Ranma has been conditioned to hate grabby perverts who won't take "no" for an answer. Fortunately for the bikers, just as Ranma took a step forward to hand out some much needed attitude adjustment, a wail pierced the room drawing everyone's attention and, subsequently, called the bikers' full attention away from the short haired girl.

It was just the bratty kid crying about wanting to see his mommy while the elderly woman comforted him. For a brief moment, Ranma's heart went out to the kid. He knew what it was like to be in a place he didn't know and to just want the comfort that only a mother can give their child. _"Course, it's not like my mother ever gave me any love. She just cares about my 'manliness',"_ he thought with a snort, but he'd seen and heard enough about this "unconditional love" thing from others to know the basics of the idea.

As the biker punks started yelling at the kid, the tall dude, who had looked to be steeling himself, suddenly stood up and in a determined and confident voice proclaimed, "I want to tell all of you enough information, so that you can get home alive." At this the lone wolf kid started to yell at him, but Ranma tuned him out as unimportant for now and narrowed his eyes at the tall dude.

"_If that didn't sound like an admission of guilt, I don't know what does. I'll give him a chance to explain before I beat him down since I would have liked the same instead of getting malleted," _Ranma thought with a nod as he sized up the big man again.

The tall dude also ignored the lone wolf kid and continued, "I'll tell you all I know first. We are all going to take weapons first and be transported to another place, I believe."

The biker punks started yelling something at the tall dude, which was promptly tuned out, and Ranma took this opportunity to chime in. "You know it sounds like you're admitting to being the one who kidnapped us and brought us here when you say that sort of stuff, right?" Everyone paused at those words as if considering them for the first time. Ranma took in their reactions, and his eyes widened a bit as he came to a realization. _"These idiots never even thought that they may have been kidnapped? Sweet, tap dancing, zombie Christ riding a Brillo pad to Chinatown, we're in more trouble than I thought."_

Tall dude looked taken aback by the raven-haired martial artist's words as if he had never considered the idea either while the lone wolf kid laughed his ass off from his position against the wall. Tall dude finally composed himself a bit before replying, "Yes, I suppose it could look that way, but I can assure you that I had nothing to do with all of you being here. This black ball here called Gantz brought us all here."

The pretty boy decided to speak up then. "So, is this a game? Like for a TV show?"

Tall dude looked a bit upset at that question before answering firmly, "No! It's not a game or a TV show."

Ranma quirked an eyebrow at this as his mind raced at the implications. _"He sounds really serious about this. Almost like this is going to be life or death. Mental note: Try to take this seriously."_ And with that thought, Ranma tuned back into what the others were saying at probably the worst moment.

"You have to go capture these… alien… guys," the tall dude said, and it was obvious that even he knew it sounded kind of stupid. The point was driven home when the bikers all started cracking up and laughing outrageously.

Ranma may have joined in, but the looks he saw on the faces of all tall dude's group were too serious for this to be a joke. It also didn't hurt that he had experienced some pretty weird shit before, and that his senses detected no lie whenever the tall dude had spoken thus far. The point was driven home even further when the tall dude and dependent girl both said that the previous people, who did not listen, died.

Finally, tall dude turned to the short guy and asked him to explain how to use the suits. This perked Ranma's interest. _"Maybe they're talking about the same type of suit that the lone wolf kid is wearing. They may even know where I can get one," _Ranma thought eagerly. He was quickly disappointed by the short guy's response of, "you just wear it".

The next thing the tall dude asked caught Ranma's attention yet again, but this time, it brought no feelings of anticipation. "Kei-chan, did you kill the Onion Alien?"

"_Aha! The short guy's name is Kei! The chan suffix is a little weird, especially after a question like that. Maybe they're old friends like Ucchan and me. Though, I may want to wait until I know his full name before I start calling anything. After all, I don't want to piss off a possible ally. Self centered he may be, but if what tall dude said is true, we all may need all the help we can get." _With that thought, he turned back in time to hear the response from the guy he now knew as Kei-chan.

"No! I sent it… up." He noticed the confused look he was getting from his friend, the tall dude, so he decided to elaborate. "That gun you had was for capturing."

A realization bloomed on the tall dude's face as he verified that it was the one with the three prongs. _"Well," _thought Ranma, _"I never want to have to kill again if I can help it. And since it sounds like we need to take one of these guns, maybe I should go for these capture guns."_

It was then that the loud music began playing from the ball.

As the last note of the morning radio calisthenics song ended, words began appearing on the Gantz ball. Ranma bent down to read the words that appeared.

"Your lives are over."

"How your new lives are used is up to me."

"That's why you're here."

Ranma stood as he contemplated what he had just read. _"My life is over? My new life? What the hell? Following that line of thought, it's saying it brought me back to life. But that can't be. For starters, I never died. Hits from Ryoga are harder than that cliff face was."_

Ranma briefly glanced at the ball as it changed to ask them to eliminate a target and showed a goofy looking robot and a bit of info on it. _"Tanaka Alien?"_ Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he turned to the tall dude.

Before he could utter a word, the ball popped open, startling him, and revealing a large cache of weapons and some boxes in the back. Ignoring it for the moment, he turned back to the tall dude.

"Hey, I'm Ranma Saotome. I have a quick question. What's all this about new lives?" He asked with a sheepish grin on his face.

Tall dude looked stunned for a moment before replying, "Nice to meet you. I just wish it were under better circumstances. I'm Masaru Kato. The thing about the lives is that we were all taken here as we died. The Gantz ball brought us back to life, so it thinks it can tell us how to use our lives now."

Ranma scowled at this. "I wasn't dead or dying though. Do you think it might be a mistake?"

The now identified Kato looked stunned for a moment and was about to answer before being cut off by dependant girl. "I heard that sometimes Gantz makes mistakes. It's rare though, and odds are you probably just don't remember dying," she interrupted in a slightly melancholy voice before saying in a more energetic tone with a smile on her face, "By the way, I'm Kei Kishimoto. Pleased to meet you."

Ranma returned the smile all the while thinking to himself, _"Well, there goes the idea of calling the short guy Kei. Maybe I should just be formal and refer to the guys by their last names… But, on to the more pressing issue, I can't be dead! Gantz must have made a mistake! Yeah, that's it…"_

He pushed those thoughts to the side for later contemplation in time to hear Kato mention how important the suits were. Ranma quickly made his way to the ball and paused at the sight of the man in the Gantz ball. _"Hmm… It seems that he's emitting a fairly large amount of the 'alien' Ki, but most of what I sensed was the ball actually storing some Ki. It's some sort of weird Ki reservoir! But that means that it should go empty eventually… Unless the man inside can recharge it somehow, but it would be too much for him to recharge on his own without a long period of rest." _With another puzzled look at the pale man, Ranma decided to see if anyone had any answers about the strange man. Raising his voice and enhancing it a little with some Ki to be heard over the din, he inquired to the room at large about the man in the ball.

The room fell silent as the people who didn't notice the ball man rushed over to see and those that did either weren't saying anything or didn't know how to answer. The pig tailed boy filtered out the noise made by the obnoxious bikers and focused on the others in the room. After a moment of contemplation, he remembered the lone wolf kid seemed to be the most familiar with the place. He turned to the lone wolf kid and said, "Hey, kid with the creepy eyes, you seem to know something or at least seem more familiar with this place. What's with the dude in the ball?"

The lone wolf kid's eyes widened marginally as he realized Ranma knew more about him than he thought. Covering with a scoff, the kid replied in a condescending tone, "He's Gantz, obviously. He just sits in that ball all the time. No one really knows anything about it. Now, go away. You're annoying me."

Ranma narrowed his eyes before sighing and continuing on with what he originally intended to do. He found a case on the rack on the back of the Gantz ball with "Ranma-kun" written on it, took it off to the side, and opened it to find a black suit that looked like it was made of skin tight, black latex and had studs interspersed on it.

While Kato was going around explaining the importance of the suit to the others and letting them get changed, Ranma was inspecting the suit very carefully. _"Hmm… Very well constructed. Feels like it may even hold up in one of my battles," _he thought as he stretched and tested the fabric of the suit. _"As for style, I've had to wear worse, and at least I can cover it up with some clothing," _he continued to himself before examining the suit even further and with less conventional means. _"Odd, it almost seems like the studs on this thing are mini Ki reservoirs that can be used by the wearer. That probably explains the Ki boost from the lone wolf kid, and why Kato is running around touting how great the suit is. To a normal person, I guess the amount in the reservoir would be significant. To a martial artist like me, it's not too terribly much. Nothing to turn your nose up at mind you, but for me, it's not necessary. There's also something else that I can't quite put my finger on. All in all, it is pretty impressive, but it can be overcome and would be more useful to untrained people. Oh well… Might make some good armor, and a little extra Ki never hurt anyone." _

Ranma frowned at something breaking him out of his inspection. He turned to see the lone wolf kid laughing at the short guy. "You left it at home?" Lone wolf kid got out between chuckles before pointing at the short guy and continuing with a sick grin on his face, "Okay, that's one death confirmed!"

Ranma noticed Shorty panicking and saw the empty box at his feet. The martial artist's eyes widened when he realized what exactly that meant. _"So, he left the suit at home, and for an untrained guy like him, the suit may be the only thing that keeps him alive," _Ranma realized. And with that, he got up and went to address the short guy.

"Hi, I'm Ranma Saotome. I couldn't help but noticed that you don't have your suit. You can borrow mine if you want," Ranma said with a friendly grin on his face.

"Thanks! I'm Kei Kurono, and I would really appreciate it. But are you sure? This suit may save your life," the now identified Kurono said with a hopeful smile while motioning to the suit in Ranma's hands.

"_Good. I can call him Kurono now, so I don't cause any confusion with that girl," _Ranma thought briefly before responding with his grin still firmly plastered to his face. "Well, sure. I don't need it as much as an untrained light weight like you probably does."

Kurono sweat dropped as the lone wolf kid laughed his ass off yet again. _"I'm really beginning to not like that guy…" _After a few moments, the lone wolf kid calmed himself enough to address them both. "Don't bother. If it's not your suit, then it's nothing more than a set of clothes."

A flash of realization hit Ranma harder than one of Ryoga's most powerful punches. _"That's what I didn't notice about the Ki in the suit! It's mine! The aura matches mine perfectly! It does make a kind of sense though… After all, it's not like you can channel someone else's Ki. That's probably also the reason why it felt so natural to me, and I bet I would probably feel perfectly comfortable wearing it... Other than the tightness of it of course…"_

Ranma pulled himself from his thoughts once more as Kato and the female Kei had started asking Kurono about his suit. The biker's leader also noticed how seriously everyone non-biker affiliated was taking this and decided to put on his suit while his biker stooges mocked him. Knowing that everyone else was preoccupied, Ranma felt it would be a good time to slip away and put on his own suit since he knew it wouldn't do Kurono any good.

* * *

As he returned to the room with the suit on under his clothes, Ranma noticed one of the biker stooges pointing a rifle at the lone wolf kid, and his danger sense briefly flared when the rifle flashed a light from the barrel and made a noise like a laser starting up and then shutting off, which signaled that it had been fired.

Everyone stopped as if time itself was holding its breath, just waiting to see what would happen. Then everything started moving again, and many things happened simultaneously as if to catch up for the time lost.

The biker stooge who fired the shot began complaining that the rifle was just a toy. Kurono remarked about nothing happening as Kato's eyes widened, and he remembered the time lag effect of the gun and corrected Kurono. As the lone wolf kid brought his arm up a futuristic pistol sprang from his sleeve into his hand, and his finger depressed the trigger without a second thought. The same sound of the laser being turned on and off sounded again as four protrusions came up from the barrel of the gun forming an "X" shape and flashed a light along with the center barrel. Ranma was moving as soon as the kid brought his hand up, but it was too late as the gun fired well before he could clear the room and push the biker stooge out of the way. He watched, as the gun seemed to emit a weird sort of alien Ki that flowed into the head of the biker stooge.

Ranma froze as the biker stooge just looked at the kid and started yelling about the kid pointing it at him. _"Something's not right here… My danger senses were going wild."_ Ranma looked on in confusion, and then his eyes widened as he noticed the alien Ki seemed to expand itself in the biker's head. He watched in mute horror as the biker's head began to resemble a marshmallow that had been put in the microwave as it expanded to grotesque sizes. And as a marshmallow in a microwave will do, it exploded all over everyone in the room in a fountain of blood, skull fragments, and tiny bits of brain matter. Ranma filtered out the brief scream released by female Kei as he eyed the lone wolf kid warily.

The kid then began speaking. At first, his voice was a bit eerily calm as if he hadn't just blown a man's head off, but as he went further on his voice rose in intensity. "Listen to me, you idiots. Anyone who points a gun at me dies. Got it? Point your gun at me, and you die! Get that into your tiny little brains! Anyone else who gets in my way dies too!" He turned his eyes to Kato, and again in that eerily calm voice, he added, "Especially you…"

Kato began asking the lone wolf kid why he was okay if he was shot as well, but Ranma wasn't paying attention. He was preparing to kick the kid's ass. As the martial artist began approaching the asshole, the kid called out, "Gantz! Send me out first."

Ranma paused in mid step as he watched, for the first time, the transfer process. Slightly sickened as he saw the inside of the lone wolf kids head, he turned away as Kato asked him why he would kill his partners.

Ranma glanced back to hear the reply and instantly regretted it, as the top half of the kid's head was gone. He forcefully shut his eyes and exercised his iron will to hold down his lunch as only from the nose down was left on the kid, but the kid still spoke, "When did Gantz ever say anything about partners? Are you stupid?" And then the rest of his face was gone.

Ranma opened his eyes again and noticed the timer on the Gantz ball. He shrugged it off, and made his way over to the rack of guns while trying to ignore the people teleporting behind him. Taking a three pronged teleporting gun and, to his disgust, one of the pistols meant for killing that the lone wolf kid had. He also saw some kind of device that looked kind of like that PSP system Hiroshi showed him last week, and decided to take one. If nothing else, he could show off to Hiroshi that his PSP was even more hi-tech looking.

Then something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, the door that the lone wolf kid was standing in front of didn't have a barrier up anymore. He filtered out the sounds of Kato reassuring Kurono and entered the side room.

He was shocked when he saw a large gyroscope looking thing and beyond it, some more items. As he looked them over, his eyes fell onto one item in particular. It was a hilt of a katana. Taking it in his hand, he held it in an opening stance, and a blade erupted from the hilt forming a full katana. _"Hmm… Could be useful,"_ he thought with a grin. Finally, he began heading back to the main room only to stop as he noticed a tingling sensation starting at the top of his head.

Reaching up, he waved his hand over where his forehead should be and began to panic, as it met no resistance. He screwed his eyes closed and waited until the strange tingling sensation finished working its way down his body. When it finally ended, he opened his eyes and realized that he was standing on a street corner with a florescent streetlight shining down on him. He glanced around and came to an unsettling realization. He was finally outside… Alone.

* * *

**General Author's Notes: **This chapter could only be described as a labor of love. I went through several rewrites to get it out. It even went from 3063 words to over 5000, so I hope you all enjoyed it.

No real action yet. I was kind of disappointed by that as well, but the next chapter should hopefully contain enough action for all you adrenaline junkies out there. If not, there's always the temple mission. * Evil chuckle *

Also, this fic will follow around Ranma rather than the Gantz crew. I will try to explain some of what happens to them in interludes if it is important, but this is from Ranma's perspective. If you want to know what happens to Kurono's group in more detail, you may want to read the manga. It's worth it… Trust me.

**Ranma Notes: **To any "Ranma's OOC" complainers out there, yes, he is slightly OOC. This was done intentionally as he has matured (some) in the last year. If you feel he is incredibly OOC in this chapter, I ask you to remember that Ranma was in "combat mode" due to the foreign setting, and even in the canon, when Ranma is in a real fight, he is pretty serious. He will be in "combat mode" for a good portion of time due to Gantz's ability to hurl just about anything your way, but he will still have his moments. The unpredictability is part of the charm of the series.

I also plan on having Ranma be much closer to the canon Ranma when outside of Gantz's playground. If you noticed, I even included a slight reference to his well-known foot in mouth disease with Kurono.

Also, in regards to his speech being cleaned up, I hate writing in an accent, and the whole "ya" instead of "you" thing is obnoxious (Trust me. I grew up in Louisiana and Texas with relatives from all over the south. The accent is obnoxious). To those out there who write in the accent, good for you, but I really can't write that way. In fact, when reading a fanfic with that, I mentally filter it out and parse it into somewhat decent grammar. I may occasionally add in a bit of slang or accent at different parts (not bloody likely), but most will be in normal English.

As to Ranma's curse, yes, it's still there… And Gantz is going to have fun embarrassing the hell out of Ranma.

Someone has already mentioned the Nerima Crew, and they will be featured again. However, I have long and short term plans for them. Kasumi will probably be all right… Maybe…

**Gantz Notes:** I started in the Tanaka Alien plot line for several reasons (any complaints saying that it should be the Suzuki Alien will be ignored since Suzuki is anime only). First, it gives him time to get set up in Gantz world, and it also lets him interact with some of the more colorful characters.

Anybody worried about Ranma coming in, kicking everybody's asses, and breaking the Gantz world, calm down. I have my plot set up, and rest assured, this will be no cakewalk for Ranma.

Finally, onto Gantz's opening lines about them being there, you may have noticed that mine are slightly different. The first two lines are roughly the same in all translations I've seen. It's the third that is different every time I've seen it. It's ranged from, "That's the theory anyway" to "That's how the cookie crumbles". The most accurate I've seen thus far is, "That's just the way it is". This bugged me, so I got my S.O. EienNiHen (translator and runner of Desert Bus Translations. The homepage on my bio is a link to her site) to give it a look. She read it over, and this how she explained it to me:

The line reads in Japanese (romanji at any rate):

Toiu rikutsu na wake dasu.

Removing the Gantz slang/poor spelling, it is actually:

Toiu rikutsu no wake desu.

This actually does not translate well into English. It is somewhat of a colloquialism and very context specific. It essentially translates as, "So there! :P". A literal translation would be: "Because theory's reason". The "Toiu" actually connects this sentence to the previous one, which links it to Gantz using their new lives as the reason they are there. After much discussion and with the context the way it is, we decided that it essentially translates to, "That's why you're here".

And that's you're translating lesson of the day! :)

* * *

**Character descriptions:**

**Ranma:** 18 years old. 5'10" or 5'02" depending on form (He's shorter in the series, but for this, I'm saying he grew some in the missing year). Black hair for male, red for female. Blue eyes. Lithe athletic frame in both forms and built for speed, but the female one has sizeable breasts making it look less athletic. Wears hair in pigtail. Often wears red Chinese silk shirt, and black drawstring pants with black slippers, so fairly unisex, but baggy on his female form.

**Kei Kurono / Short Guy:** 17 years old. Around 5'04". Brown hair that looks shaggy with long bangs. All in all, he's pretty generic looking. Wears a long sleeve shirt and jeans in this arc. Lives with Kei Kishimoto at his apartment at this point. Knew Kato as a childhood friend.

**Masaru Kato / Tall Dude:** 17 years old. Around 6'04" to 6'05" (described as 190 cm in anime). Shoulder length black hair. Rather strong and looks somewhat like a punk despite his kind nature. Wears a T-shirt and jeans during this arc when not in suit. Lives with his cousins and his aunt, who abuses him and his younger brother, after his parents die. Cares most about his brother Ayumu who he feels he must protect. Is the childhood friend of Kei Kurono whom he idolized.

**Kei Kishimoto / Dependant Girl:** Around 5'04" with reddish brown hair in a pixie cut. Her most obvious feature is her large breasts, which get her into some trouble as she is almost sexually assaulted several times. Wears a sailor style school uniform when not in suit. Lives with Kei Kurono as his "pet" (non sexual despite Kurono's attempts), and is in love with Kato.

**Joichiro Nishi / Lone Wolf Kid:** Age 14 and around 5'02" with black hair that goes to about the nape of his neck. Has cold eyes and views most people in contempt. In this arc, he is the most experienced person in the Gantz group with a total of 90 points. Wears a hoodie and brown slacks over his suit.

**Rice / The Dog:** He's a dog with some brown spots, a goofy and friendly face, and that's about it. He's also a huge perv. I won't describe it; you have to see it for yourself.

**Masanobu Hojo / Pretty Boy:** Around 5'08" with brown hair down to mid neck in a highly styled fashion and a very pretty face. Wears a school uniform over the suit. He's a former male model and has a slight holier than thou attitude.

**Sadayo Suzumura:** Around 5'04" with long black hair that often covers most of her face. She is often described as looking like Sadako (the girl from the Japanese movie "Ring" or "Ringu" as we love to butcher the titles of Japanese movies and steal their plots). Wears a white dress when not wearing the suit in this arc. Often forgettable and hides behind things while watching and stalking Hojo.

**Biker Gang Leader / Tetsuo / The Biker Stooge Leader:** Very much a punk. Around 5'10" with black hair that is died red on the top. He has multiple piercings and evil looking eyes. I will be using the manga version of him, so he will be a lot less sympathetic of a character. Wears a biker's jacket and blue jeans when not in suit.

**Biker Gang Members / The Three Biker Stooges:** Their names are Haruya Numata, Kinji (I believe Shinsuke is his family name), and Kousuke Nakajima. Nakajima is the one who got his head blown off by Nishi in this chapter and was just a standard blue haired punk. Kinji is a blonde haired punk who is missing teeth. Numata is a fat punk with blonde hair and freckles. He also seems to be the second in command.

**Kayo and Ryota Sugimoto / The Elderly Lady and The Crying Brat:** Kayo looks like a sweet little grandmother with the short white haired afro look some older women wear (my grandmother wore her hair like that before she passed away, so it does exist). She is very quiet and cares strongly for Ryota and just wants to keep him safe and get him to his mother. Ryota is a typical six to eight year old kid with short black hair. He cries… A lot.

That's all, so take care, and I'll start work on the next chapter tomorrow.


End file.
